The Missing Piece
by Shadowess 88
Summary: A Twilight Princess story. Nyx is a young woman who had trouble growing up, her one and only friend was taken from her. By strange circumstances, she finds herself in a world of twilight... Will she find answers? Or something else...? --ON HOLD FOR NOW--
1. Enter Nyx

_Shadowess: _Okay! This is a new story. I started this a long while ago and didn't get far so... I'm hoping to get input on this one. There are no pairings so far but I'll let y'all know if there will be or not! This is an OC, so enjoy!

**Disclaimer: I do not own Legend of Zelda, Nintendo, Honda, or anything except for my OC**

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**The Missing Piece**

_Chapter I: Enter Nyx_

The sunny sky began to cloud over as the local time reached four in the afternoon. The roads gradually became crowded with vehicles as parents rushed to pick up their children from school. The sidewalks became occupied with more people as well. Amongst those individuals was a girl of black-blue hair and dark sapphire blue eyes.

Clad in dark brown boots, black bellbottom pants, light blue baggy sleeve peasant top that revealed her stomach, a tie-up black vest on top, and a hematite chocker around her neck. She appeared like any young adult. That's if you did not see what was hidden beneath her hair…pointed ears.

Adjusting the black and grey bag over her shoulder, she turned to walk through a park. With this unique physical feature, she had a unique name. Her name is Nyx.

Nyx has a foster family, with just a mom and dad. She doesn't know her real parents, not really wishing to know. Having been taken in at the age of 10, being 9 years ago now, she was cared for by Lisa and Jacob Shade. Making things easier, they registered Nyx under that last name to go to school. They didn't mind her elf-like ears, but the other children…

"_What's wrong with your ears?"_

"_They're pointed!"_

"_She's an alien!"_

"_No! She's a human freak!"_

"_Horn ears!"_

"_Pointy ear!"_

"_It's an evil Romulan from Star Trek!"_

"_Pointy!"_

"_Pointy!"_

"_Pointy freak!"_

Crude teasing for her… It wasn't her fault that she had those ears. She was born with them. Not just the ears though, but also her reflexes and… intuition as her foster mom calls it.

Bullies didn't pick on her physically. She never let them touch her. When one tried to strike at her from behind, she would duck or evade very quickly. This got her a good place as a goalie during gym class. That didn't stop the name calling though.

Feeling very self conscious, Nyx grew her hair out to cover her ears. Her foster parents noticed her depression and gradual desensitization towards others. They offered her solo after-school classes to build her confidence.

Lisa and Jacob supported her as though she were their own blood. Nyx appeared happy but never had anyone to call a friend.

There was one though. One. In high school, while sitting beneath the stairs doing some homework, a boy dropped a book and it landed in front of her…

_With a flutter in the air, Nyx looked up from where she sat to see a book land in front of her. It looked like a journal. Turning her sapphire eyes to the shadow, she rested her sight on a boy with dirty blond hair and sapphire eyes, though they weren't as dark as hers._

"_Hi there! Sorry if I'm disturbing you, my book fell out of my bag." He picked it up. He smiled to her._

_She shrugged a little. "…It's okay."_

"_Mind if I join you?"_

_This was a first. "I… don't mind."_

"_Thanks." He sat down beside her. "My name's Darren Naito. But everyone calls me Link. What's your name?"_

"_Nyx Shade."_

"_That's a cool name, Nyx. A pleasure to meet you." He held out his hand to her._

_Nyx gave him a real smile. "Like-wise, Darren." She shook his hand._

Nyx heard laughing and some crying ahead on the park path. There were three rather larg boys picking on two smaller kids; a boy and girl, and they looked like twins. The larger boys were throwing rocks at them.

Nyx went up to the leader of the boys and crabbed his wrist to stop him from throwing another rock. He struggled and looked up at her.

"Let me go, crazy lady!" he kicked at her.

"Leave those two alone." She said in a calm voice.

"Make me, witch!"

"How about I make a deal… If you can hit me, I'll leave and take the little ones home. But if you can't hit me, you must tell me all your names so that I can tell your moms and dads what you're doing."

"Like she can really dodge all of us! Get the witch!" All three boys launched at her.

Nyx just walked backwards, evading all of the brats. After about five minutes, the boys got tired. She looked one straight in the eyes.

"Your name…?"

"M-M-M-Mickey Wiles…" he looked scared.

She looked the second boy in the eyes. "You're name?"

"Ta-Ta-Taylor Lucas…" He started to tear.

Nyx looked at the leader. "…Your name?"

"Brian M-Moore…"

"Now, boys, do you know what to do now?"

They shamefully shook their heads.

"You all go home and tell your mothers what you're doing before I tell them that you were beating on innocent little kids. Now get!"

The three took off, all crying in the distance. Nyx looked to the twins and smiled to them. "Are you okay?"

They nodded. "Thank you, pretty lady." The boy said.

"You were amazing!" the girl smiled.

Nyx smiled. "I come through the park here often. If they bother you again, please tell me. My name is Nyx. And you two are?"

"I'm Adam."

"I'm Ava."

"Okay Adam and Ava. You two be careful out here, alright?"

Okay!" they both said out.

Nyx game them each a gentle pat on the head before continuing on down the path to her home. They could make it home on their own, and if they were really scared, those two kids would run after her.

Her house was only a block away from the part so she didn't have to walk far from work. Lisa and Jacob's home was two stories with no basement. There were three rooms upstairs, one being her room. The main floor had the basics; kitchen, living room, dining room, and her foster parent's bedroom. The two other rooms were spare bedrooms in case of visitors. Of course, they had beds and everything but no one really went in them except for cleaning.

Walking up the driveway, Nyx noted that the 2002 Honda CR-V was gone, meaning that Jacob was not home, but Lisa could be.

Taking the three porch steps up to the door, she went inside the unlocked door. Once she closed the door, she tucked her hair behind her ears, showing the full point extent of her feature.

Her foster mom wasn't there. Her shoes were gone. Nyx walked to the stairs, believing that Lisa had gone for a walk or something. She went in to her room and closed the door.

Before her eyes was a dark colored room, with deep reds, rich blues, and traces of green. Not exactly the primary colors, cause yellow disturbed her color-wise. She pulled out a brush and started getting the wind tangles out of her hair.

Nyx sat down in a small but comfy nest chair in front of a small television set. A Game Cube was attached to it, laying neatly with the controller untouched. She only had a few games for it, none which she bought. She didn't even buy the game system.

They belonged to Darren… well, used to. Darren left the Game Cube and his favorite games to her, including his Zelda games.

'_Attention students. We are sad to inform you that Darren Naito…'_

_Nyx raised her head from her work to listen more carefully._

'…_Has been in an accident. Doctors found that the damage is too great to his internal organs… If you want to see him, he's at St. Boney hospital. Think positive thoughts for him.'_

_Nyx threw her books in to her bag and shot up from her desk._

"_Miss Shade! Take your seat!" the teacher yelled._

_She didn't listen as she bolted out the door and our of the school. She felt… panic, fear, and something that clutched around her heart._

_At the hospital, where beeping of heart monitors pierced through her hearing, she stopped for air at the front desk._

"_Oh! Goodness, dear, are you okay?" the nurse looked a bit startled at Nyx's sudden entry._

"_Yes…" she coughed. "C-can I see Darren Naito?"_

"_Mr. Naito is in ICU, room 379."_

"_Thank you." She took off again, but not as fast. The hospital was on the other side of town, which took 20 straight minutes of running. So her legs were stinging now…_

_Up the elevator to the third floor, she found the right room, with a notebook printed 'NAITO' hanging on the door. She went in and gasped. He was a mess. Bandages, casts, tubes, all over him. Slowly, Nyx approached him._

_He was pale, and he slowly opened his eyes. "Nyx…?" his voice was weak._

"_Y-yeah. I'm here." She gently took his hand._

"_Man… my gut is killing me." He forced out a smile. But it was that literal._

"_I…I bet… Do you know what happened, Darren…?" Nyx was having a hard time keeping herself together._

"_Some…things… were driving a car… I was on the sidewalk and there were… four kids on the road…" His fist tightened at recalling what happened. "He.. or they or whoever they were… they were going to run them over… I ran to the kids…" he coughed. "I got them out of the way but… the engine revved… Everything went black as I felt the car hit me hard."_

"_They… deliberately ran you over…?!"_

_Darren nodded. "I woke up in here while the doctor was talking to my parents… Just when he said, 'we can't stop the bleeding...'."_

_A tear, glistening in the lights fell on to Darren's hand. "Oh, Darren… please, can you remember what the car looked like? Or the driver…?"_

_He shook his head. "Sorry, Nyx… But they did take something me me… Me chain and pendant you gave me…" He couldn't look her in the eye._

"_I promise, Darren, I promise that I will find these guys and kill whoever did this to you…"_

"_Just get them in jail, don't kill them."_

"_I can't do that…" Nyx whispered. "They deliberately hit you…"_

"_I know…" Darren coughed. "Can yo help me with something…?"_

"_Anything."_

"…_Help me write my will."_

She did. Everything he said, she wrote. They had two nurses there as witnesses. By the time they were done, and the nurses signed, Darren was white.

"_Don't cry for me, Nyx. It's okay…" he wiped a tear from her cheek._

"_Darren… Link… I… I…"_

_He gave a weak smile. "I know… I love you too…"_

_With one last choke on tears, she leaned down and gently kissed him. "…Thank you…"_

"_No prob…" he coughed and closed his eyes. His heart beat dropped until he hit flat-line._

"_Good bye… Link…" Nyx pressed her lips to his hand before walking to the door to get the nurse._

The funeral was held two days later. Nyx was there with his mom and dad. They cremated him in his finest clothes, then they brought his ashes to an open green field. They each took a handful and tossed it to the wind.

Darren's mom wept while his dad looked on with sadness. Nyx would not will herself to cry, just sore eyes. She kept the promise to herself; still waiting to find Darren's murderer.

Darren left the Game Cube and all of his Zelda items to her, along with a box… with a tag that said 'DO NOT HOPE TIL UR BDAY AT 19'.

That was a few weeks ago, but she hadn't opened it. She was scared to.

With that aside, she picked up one of the games, 'Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess.' The character on the box looked like Darren, but with ears like hers…

"Oh honey…" a quiet voice said behind her. "You miss him so much… Maybe you should try and play it…" Lisa, her foster mom, rested a hand on her shoulder. "Maybe you can see why he liked the games so much, and why he wanted you to have them."

"Mom… I just don't know anymore…"

"Just try, Nyx… Maybe you can listen to the game music. These games have no vocals, orchestrated."

Nyx liked music without vocals. It could help. "..Okay… I'll play."

Lisa smiled. "I'll bring up some food for you."

"Thank you…"

Lisa left the room. Nyx sighed and go the game set up. She started it. There was a crash downstairs, a vase breaking. Nyx got up and ran out of her room to see what happened.

"Shoo! Out!" Lisa cried out.

A cat, a calico bred cat, had gotten in to the house and knocked over a vase. It was running around, almost toying with Lisa.

"Honey! He's heading for the stairs!" Lisa called as the cat took off towards Nyx. The cat dove right under her, just missing Nyx's hands by centimeters.

Nyx ran after it and ended up back in her room. It jumped all over, threatening to knock various items down. Nyx watched its movements, closing the door. The calico jumped. With her reflexes, she jumped and reached out, grabbing the cat by its mid-section.

"Ah!" She recoiled but held on to the cat. "You're going back outside, you rotten thing."

It calmed down and meowed. Nyx sighed and went out of her room after a drop of blood dripped from her arm. She went back downstairs and set the cat outside in the front yard, shooing it off.

Lisa saw her arm. "Oh my, he got you good. You should clean that up."

Nyx looked at it. "It'll be okay. I'll just clean off the blood." She went back to the stairs.

"before you go up, I made you sandwiches and biscuits." Lisa always called cookies 'biscuits'. She handed Nyx a plate.

"Tank you." She gave a small smile and went up to her room. Setting the plate down, she noticed that the screen was doing something odd.

The introduction screenplay to the game was… going backwards and paused at some strange characters… then finally on a wolf howling. The speakers started to give off a very high pitch. To normal ears, it'd be a mild buzz. But to Nyx, it was agonizing. She covered her ears but it got louder and louder. She tried to move to the game system to turn it off, but her vision swirled. She tripped on the controller and fell to the ground.

The game cube slowly shut down on its own. A drop of blood slid through the lid, making a spark. Nyx's vision and senses went dark.

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_Shadowess: _Well that seems like a good place to stop. I'd like to have at least 1 review for this chapter. I'll have the next one out by next week! Reviews are love and not forced. Arigato!


	2. Shadows

_Shadowess:_ Okay! I managed to get this one finished. I changed a few things from what I originally had but hey, its better now. I would like to say a big thank you to my first reviewer to this story, _Blue Fire Lily_! Thank you so much and you know what? This is what happens next!

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything about the Twilight Princess or anything of the Legend of Zelda series**

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Chapter 2: Shadows

Slowly coming to, Nyx forced open her eyes, only to shut them again at sudden disorientation. Pushing herself up in to a seating position, she found her ground and opened her eyes again. With a quick look around, she was struck confused. She was awake, but not on the floor in her room. She was in a castle-like prison cell.

Everything around her was dark, but light; devoid of color. The door to her cell was black bars from ceiling to floor, though it was open, so she wasn't taken here. Getting to her feet, Nyx moved cautiously, seeing strange black particles emerge up from the ground only to vanish. There were some noises. Nyx hid herself in the darker corner.

Strange dark being were dragging an unconscious wolf to the cell next to hers. They hissed and give off inhumane noises. Heck, they didn't even look human. They almost dragged themselves, from the weight of their slithery arms or their stone-shield faces… They would be something that you would see in the shadows of an ancient statue…

The wolf though, was a beautiful creature form what she could see. Dark fur with a unique patter on its forehead with a light tan fur. Why were they bringing a wolf down to this place…? Unless those things were going to eat it…

Hell no!

Getting out from the shadows when they passed the open door, she ran out and snuck up behind one of them. Pushing herself against the wall, her arm stung for a while before she swung her leg out and kicked the one not holding the wolf.

It turned around and gave a horrid screech. The other creature chained the wolf up fast and the both swung their giant arms at Nyx. She dodged and started to run where they came from. To her relief, they chased after her, leaving the wolf alone.

A blur of orange and dark black-green rushed past her as she found herself in a large bare room with a stair case of the far end. Nyx didn't stop as she jumped over black vermin that ran at her as well. Up the stairs, she pushed herself harder, to jump over the large gaps that she could see ahead of her.

Behind her, the two shadow creatures tripped over each other, causing the vermin to nip at them and get swatted away. Nyx ran up and after jumping over a third gap, only to find the stone steps start to crumble beneath her feet. She grabbed the edge and pulled herself up.

Looking down, the rocks broke through many steps and also crushed the creatures after her. Nyx kept going up the steps until the tower got narrower.

She couldn't figure out why she was here, or even how she got to this strange place. The game made that tone… just thinking about it gave her a major head ache… and she fell over.

"I hope that wolf is alright." She muttered aloud as she entered the top of the tower, where a door was half open. She walked in.

A figure stood at the window wearing a dark cloak. Something about this person told Nyx not to be wary of them… They turned around.

"Who…?" the figure spoke, feminine and struck confused.

"Who are you first?" Nyx looked through the shadows of the person.

A pause between them stood before the figure lowered the hood. She had dark golden hair, soft jewel blue eyes, a crown over her brow with a blue crystal… Elvish ears stood out from her hair.

"I am Princess Zelda…"

"Zelda?" Nyx was confused. She couldn't be 'that' Zelda…

"Yes… I am Zelda. Can you tell me who you are?"

"…Nyx Shade."

"Nyx… May I ask you how you came to be in the realm of twilight without taking a spirit form?"

She shrugged. "I'm just as confused as you are. One minute, I'm knocked out by a noise in my home, next I wake up in the prison cell running from strange shadow things up to here."

Zelda lowered her head in thought. "Those shadow beasts have taken over my kingdom, as their king has kept me prison here retaining my form."

"I can see that. But… where the hell is here?"

"This is Hyrule. I am sorry but you must hide, one of the creatures are about to return to check on me." Zelda watched the door.

Nyx rolled under the bed just in time to see the creature of shadow. It gave a look around with unseen eyes before leaving. Nyx emerged and sat on the bed.

"No offence Zelda, by why haven't the shadow things killed you?"

"Because I possess a power that their king wants… I possess the power of the Triforce of Wisdom." This was getting weird…

"One more thing… What did you mean by 'spirit' form?"

"Everyone who is surrounded by this twilight is rendered unaware of all that dwells within it. They are ghosts to their own home, though they are very much alive." Zelda explained. "I did not change due to my power… you must possess a great power as well…"

"Right… like I have power…" Nyx scoffed a bit.

"Can you hold out your hand?"

Nyx held out her hand. Zelda held out her own hand bearing a white glove. A golden outline appeared, showing three triangles in a larger one. Her eyes widened at a similar outline appearing on her own hand. The difference was the glow forming three triangles for Zelda, while Nyx had the center one filled instead.

"…The missing piece…" Zelda whispered.

"What…?" Nyx looked at her with confusion.

"You're the…" Zelda's head shot to the door. "Hide!"

Nyx dove under the bed again. It was a rather silly place to hide but it was effective. The door opened just after Zelda put her hood back up and looked out the window. Four paws walked in…

Zelda turned. She looked surprised. "Minda?!"

Nyx looked out from under the bed and came face to face… or rather to snout… with the same wolf she saw in the dudgeon. The creature had gorgeous blue eyes… the last pair of eyes she saw like that had belonged to Darren…

He sniffed her as a figure with fangs and a strange helm with orange hair looked over his shoulder.

"Oh, so that's who you smelt earlier. A girl not changed by this beautiful twilight."

"If beautiful you mean all these strange creatures about trying to kill you, ya. Just gorgeous…" Nyx said sarcastically.

"Please, Nyx… Minda is a resident of the Twilight." Zelda said. She lowered her hood. "I am Zelda. This land is Hyrule…" she told the wolf.

"Why don't you explain what happened… Twilight Princess!" Minda spoke with an impish look on her face. She appeared strange with that strange head-gear and neon orange hair.

Zelda looked down and nodded. She explained to them how it began; of how her soldiers fought valiantly against the creatures of shadow, defending the throne. Of how a figure strode in to the room, dressed in shadow armor with his true face concealed in a kind of mask, with two minions following in tow.

'_Surrender or die!'_ Was what he said to the princess.

Princess Zelda told them how she could not allow innocent lives of her kingdom to be lost to this man, therefore dropping her sword to the ground… signaling the darkness to overcome the Triforce emblem over the throne and cast the castle in to shadows.

"As the castle burnt, the citizens engulfed in the Twilight became spirits. I am banished in this castle in the exchange that the lives of the townspeople remain unharmed." Zelda finished.

"That's rough…" Nyx whispered, amazed. The wolf nodded in agreement.

"Now, I ask you both, and you as well Minda, to save Hyrule. I do not know why are you being looked for, Minda, but… you must help. Now, please leave quickly before the guard returns!" She urged them.

The wolf nodded and went out the door with Minda riding on his back. Nyx looked to Zelda, waiting to see if she had anything else to say.

"Go…" Zelda nodded to her.

She nodded in return and ran after the wolf, only to find it gone. A window was above her so she leaped up, pulling herself through before the shield-faced guard came around the bend. It was raining… the stone roof was slick wet. Across the roof, Nyx saw Minda and the wolf. The small imp was talking to the wolf. Nyx gradually made her way over to them, careful with her footing and watching for killer birds.

Hey, since the place had killer rats, why not killer birds?

Minda transformed in to two figures, one being a small boy and the other a young woman, both with frightened expressions.

"I suppose you'll want to help them. Okay. I will help as long as you do exactly as I say" Minda turned back to her regular form. She glanced over at Nyx when she was close enough. "I suppose you'll want to come too."

"I guess…" Nyx rolled her eyes. "I'm pretty sure if the wolf could talk, he'd inform you that you are really rude."

"Hmph!"

Minda sat on the wolf's back and transported the three of them with a disintegration of shadows.

Nyx felt her feet contact solid ground, though she realized she was shin deep in a spring. There was not any 'twilight' around them.

"Oh my! Looks like you'll have to go around in the shape of a wolf." Minda's giggle sounded in the air around them. She appeared as a transparent shadow in front of the two of them. "Try not to get spotted, teehee! I'll need a sword and shield that suit me. So you two go get it for me." Minda disappeared in to the wolf's shadow.

"I am not your servant, Minda." Nyx mumbled and sighed. "Well… I don't know what your name is, but I could call you something besides 'wolf'." Nyx knelt down in front of him. "You have the exact eyes of a friend of mine… Everyone called him… Link."

He barked in what she thought was approval.

"I guess that name works then. Let's go, Link."

Wolf Link padded at her side as they walked down the path towards a tree house with scarecrows and targets scattered amongst the surrounding trees. It seemed like a calm, relaxing place to live.

From behind a scarecrow came out an ogre creature with a club, charging towards them. Link growled, his fur standing on end. He barked and leaped, latching his strong jaws on the creature's neck. Green blood squirted out, making the creature gurgle and fall to the ground.

Nyx watched in awe as the ogre slowly dissolved in to the ground, leaving but only a green stain slightly different from the grass.

"Okay, I was just expecting a corpse, but that is weird…"

Link turned toward the tree house, looking at a squirrel. Nyx continued down the darkened path towards a village with Link in tow. The village was quiet, illuminated by a full large bright moon and a few torches scattered around. There were a few men spread out, one on an earth pillar scouting, and two others talking quietly by one of the houses.

They walked toward the two men first. "Maybe we can overhear what's going on… They don't seem to like strangers too much…""

Link nodded as they both stayed within the shadows the closer they got to them. Nyx tried to hear them but only caught something about missing children, Ilia, and a hidden shield. Link crept closer to hear them. After a while, they spotted Link and ran inside the house in fear.

"So there is a shield around here… That's good." Nyx said mostly to herself. What troubled her was the 'missing children' part… She cared about kids, even those twins from earlier, Adam and Ava… Were they okay?

Link seemed to notice the change in her expression. He nudged his head against her hand. She looked down at him to see his eyes stare up to hers… they looked so much like Darren's…

She shook her head. "Okay, let's gkeep going."

They went towards the look-out guy. Link stepped out of the shadows, sounding a scream. The man saw him.

"AH! A beast!" he cried out. He grabbed some odd shaped grass and blew a tune with it. A large hawk came from the sky, landing on his shoulder. "Get it!" he ordered the bird.

It cried out and flew down to Link at an alarming speed, with sharp talons sticking out.

"Hey! Get that bird away from my wolf!" Nyx jumped in front of Link with her arms outstretched, halting the hawk.

"Your wolf?! You mean that thing belongs to you?" He seemed shocked.

"Yes. This is my companion. Call off your hawk!"

"Prove it first!"

Nyx turned to Link and winked. "Okay boy, shake paw." He put his paw in her hand and shook it. "Roll over, boy." He rolled on his back. "Good boy! Who's a good wolf? Yes, you are!" Nyx rubbed his tummy. She looked back to the man. "Call off your hawk now please!"

He thought for a moment, watching Link, but he did. "Alright. Now who are you and why are you here?"

Oh boy… "I am a traveler from the north called Shade. I seek supplies for my journey since my pack was stolen." She lied, making up on the spot. "My companion here is called Darren." She bit her tongue. Ow.

Link looked up at her from the strange name. Why that name?

"Ah… well, the shop will not be open until morning, and I would not advise travel with monsters about."

"Thank you, sir." She turned away to a shaded part with Link. "Sorry… you okay?" Link nodded. "I don't do the 'treat the pet' thing so I won't do it again, to treat you like a dog… unless little kids are around." Link let off an odd noise but Nyx shook it off. She turned to start walking but stopped at seeing a cat sit in front of her.

A calico… She looked at the dried blood cuts on her arm then back to the cat, her expression in shock.

"You're… you're the same cat that scratched me before!"

It tilted its head to the side and looked at the wolf, completely ignoring Nyx. They seemed to be communicating.

She went off towards a giant water wheel and looked at a hole that was at the peak of the wheel. It looked like a possible entrance for her or Link but… Neither could get in with that man on the look-out. Nyx turned to the man and immediately saw Link was sneaking up behind the man… most likely to scare him away from his spot.

If the shield was in there, great. Nyx looked around the village and walked towards a house where two people talked. The couple seemed distraught, and the male appeared injured. Did this have to do with the missing children she overheard?

A scream and a call of terror later, the scouting man was gone. Link jumped in to the house with the water wheel. Nyx waited for a only a few moments before Link came back out with a wooden shield on his back. He jumped to reach the ground but… instead he landed in the water with a splash. Nyx suppressed a laugh at the fur that lay flat against him, and drooped underneath him.

"What was that?!" the injured man called out, holding a torch and sword.

"Are the monsters back?" the woman asked in fear, holding her swelled pregnant stomach.

"Get inside, Uli. I'll check the area for beasts." He said to her.

Nyx moved close to the entrance, trying to scout a way to get the sword from the man. The hawk would work… but it seemed obedient to the villagers. She didn't want to injure the man any more than he already was either.

Link stayed in the water and went up on the back in the shadows close to the back of the house. He sniffed around and dug in to the earth, then vanished from sight.

An electric flash caught her eye from behind her. She spun around and saw a really large insect leaving the village. Before she could comment or even think on what the hell it was…

"Foul beast!"

Link as running towards Nyx with the shield and newfound sword on his back. They both ran past the tree house and towards the bridge. They both froze at hearing an ominous voice call out to them from the spring by the bridge. Link ran in to the spring area. Nyx was about to step in to the water as well when giant stone pillars slammed down from the sky, surrounding Link.

"A shadow being approaches…" the voice echoed in the air.

Indeed, a show being did appear. It fell from a dark portal in the sky. Nyx recognized it from the jail cell at he castle. She tried pounding on the transparent red wall, but was hit back with a strong force. She watched helpless as Link engaged the battle.

Growling, Link leaped and latched on to the creature's neck, tearing a vein or two since ink-like blood spewed out, dissolving in to the water. This lasted for three agonizing minutes of Link attacking the flailing creature.

Finally, it cried out and collapsed to the valiant wolf's feet. It dematerialized and was sucked back up through the portal above, changing its appearance from a red and black swirl to green and black. The walls disappeared as the water glowed.

An orb of light flew out, and an embodiment of a giant goat formed with it, its horns encircling around the orb.

To Nyx, she could hear speech but… she couldn't understand. Link seemed to though. If only she could understand what either them were saying…

The creature turned and gazed upon her with its gold white eyes.

'You are disconnected from this world, chosen child…' the words echoed I her mind. 'You are the Missing Piece…'

Zelda had said that too, but what did it mean?

'Go forth to Faron Province to learn more…' The goat dispersed in to the water.

Link and Nyx left the spring and crossed the rickety bridge towards the woods, supposedly called Faron Woods from what Nyx could understand. They came up to a giant wall of darkness. What was that and what was beyond it?

Minda came out from Link's shadow and approached the darkness. "So you need to get in to the Twilight, huh? I suppose I can get you two in…" she said with a toothed grin. She passed through the wall, making it ripple.

A giant orange hand came out and grabbed the two, pulling them in. Nyx gasped in surprise and shock. As soon as she passed through the wall, she blacked out.

Nyx came to and stood up. She convulsed, feeling her bones and flesh tearing. She fell to her knees as Link stood up on his paws. The pain was unbearable! It was like a each one of your bones rapidly breaking and moving without your will.

Nyx cried out and fell in to darkness.

Link nudged her and barked in concern. Before his eyes, she changed in to a wolf. All white with dark pattersn, similar to his own.

Minda looked at her. "So she changes as well. Probably didn't change before sine she didn't enter the Twilight the same as you the first time."

Link looked around then started getting her unconscious wolf form on to his back.

"I'd wait to do that…" Minda giggled.

Link's head shot up as he heard the familiar sound of falling rocks. He looked down at Nyx before turning to do battle with the creature.

Only one problem… or… three.

Instead of being just one Twilit Messenger, as Minda quickly informed him their name, there were three of them! He couldn't let them win.

He charged at the first two, spinning out violently, hitting them with his claws, teeth, and tail. The two fell! Only one left… It screeched out, making Link stop from the pain ringing in his ears. To his shock, the two that fell rose up, approaching him again.

Minda came out. "You know, you have to kill all of them at once. If one remains, he'll bring back the others." She felt him stare at her. "Use your senses and focus on them all. When they're all in range, unleash your energy to attack all three at once!"

With that in mind, Link made the approach to the monsters, concentrating. All three snarled, about to strike when he unleashed his fury. One, two, three! They all dropped and disintegrated; their particles shooting to the green-lined portal in the sky.

Minda came back out and inspected the sword and shield Link had on his back. She put the shield over her face, and held the sword upside down by the handle.

"How am I supposed to use these 'weapons' from your kind? They're really strange… Oh well. I guess I'll hold on to them for you to use later…" she clicked her small fingers, making the weapons disappear in to a small shadow.

Link went over to the unharmed, unmoving Nyx and get her on to his back. When he was sure that she would not fall , he made his way deeper in to Faron Woods.

Passing around a bend, he came to a spring shrouded with darkness and a faint pale light.

"Chosen… one… changed… by shadows…" a weary mystic voice came from the spring water. "My light… was… scattered by darkness… Retrieve my… tears of… light… in this… vessel… then return… here…" an object floated through the water towards Link, looking like a glass grape vine. He picked it up with his mouth then brought Nyx close to the small pool off to the side.

He nudged her, but no response came from her. He reluctantly left her there, but he had to work fast. Minda came out.

"She'll be fine here. If a monster comes then… I don't know." She shrugged. "Work fast then."

Link stepped back, then dashed away, searching for the tears of light to cut away the darkness.

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_Shadowess:_ Yes! And now I'm working on ch3. I'll try to get it out within the next week. This story is working out better than I thought. I'm actually getting a plot going in my head! Reviews are love but not forced. Arigato! 


	3. Get Through Faron Woods

_Shadowess:_ Update time! Okay, this chapter goes out to _Blue Fire Lily_, and _Ray Rune_ for pointing out that I was misspelling Midna's name wrong. Thank you so much!

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**_Chapter III: Get Through Faron Woods_**

Surrounded by darkness… unable to move… no sounds… no light… the feeling of no will to go on… the darkness slowly swallowing her… This all too familiar sensation was drowning Nyx. She last felt like this when she first fell asleep after Darren's life faded away.

She wanted to curl up and weep but she couldn't move, let alone breathe. Was she really where she was? Or was it just a state of delusion?

There was finally feeling within her. A burning pain came from the back of her hand… It began to pulse… to her right was a swirl of seemed to be her room, with the sun peeking through her window.

Home.

To her left, a wolf was running with another wolf on its back. The darker wolf was Link. That was the strange world she found herself in…

It was as though she was presented a choice; return home, or stay in the world of danger and wonder. Go home, where Nyx knows what future lies ahead for her, or go to the world of darkness and mystery… and to possible answers of what Zelda said…

'Missing Piece.'

Home… or Hyrule.

Perhaps this would help her ease her mind from the heartfelt pain that plagued her each day… She decided…

"H-Hyrule…" her strained voice came from within. The choice was made.

The swirl image of her home faded away in to darkness as the image of the two wolves illuminated with a blinding light, cutting away the darkness surrounding her. The burning pain in her hand spread rapidly throughout her body, forcing her vision in to darkness in the light.

Nyx opened her eyes when the pain was gone. Instead, she felt herself lying on a patch of grass. It was dark, and she was by a spring from what she could tell. White paws were at the end of a muzzle from her eye-sight. Muzzle… paws… was she that wolf that Link carried on his back? She tried to move and found that the paws moved with her.

She became a wolf! But how… why? A whimper came from her throat. She moved herself over to the pool and looked at her reflection. She had just seen Link carry 'her' but she had to see for herself. The wolf who stared back at her had white fur with her own dark sapphire eyes… Looking at the wolf before her felt similar to looking at Link.

Then was Link changed by the darkness? With a few unsure steps, Nyx went to the front of the spring where little orbs of light floated over the water.

"Young… child… You… are like… that other changed… by shadows… before you…"

Nyx gazed upon the lights, finding it was the one who spoke. She nodded.

"He… is gathering… my tears…. The darkness… will… lift soon…"

Nyx sat in front of the spring. If the darkness would lift, she'd be back to normal. Then would Link return to who he is? Who was Link? What was his real name? What did he look like? Why did he have Darren's eyes? Why did he turn in to a wolf instead of a spirit like Zelda said? What was his story…? Her head hung with all these questions flying around through her head. She laid her wolf form down on the damp ground.

Time… she would have to wait. If she and 'Link' had to continue on in this battle against the darkness, she would need a lot of answers to her questions.

Above her, a few lights flashed. An object fell in to the water, and instantly the darkness was lifted from the area. Everything around her turned bright and full of life; blue water, bright green grass, even some birds flew by.

Nyx felt herself standing on her feet and looking forward at a giant creature of light. Instead of a ram, it was a large monkey. She glanced around and saw a figure to her right… clad in a green tunic and cap… with the same sword and shield that the wolf Link got for Midna on his back.

The monkey spirit was talking to the both of them. She could not comprehend what it was saying since the man before her now was catching all her attention.

A trace of dirty blond hair underneath the green cap… Everything around her seemed deafening. All she could hear was her own heart beating. It couldn't… It can't…

"Now heroes, what you seek is deep in the forest… This forbidden power is locked away in the Forest Temple. Go forth and save Hyrule!" The monkey of light dove in to the water with no sound and vanished from sight. Midna came up as a transparent shadow.

"Well you heard the monkey. We have to get that power. I need it." Midna giggled. "You best get to the Forest Temple now." With that, she disappeared back in to the figure's shadow.

It was then that he turned to face Nyx. No… she was dead, she had to be! This wasn't real. She took a step back from him as he stepped towards her.

"Wait, what's wrong?" His voice rang through her ears with all too familiarly.

"N-no… You're not supposed to be here…" Nyx's breath caught in her throat. "You're not here, Darren!!" Her voice cried out.

"It's me, Link!" He reached out to her. "The wolf, I was the wolf!"

"You're dead! You died in front of me, Darren! You're not him!" Nyx found herself screaming at him.

"Who is Darren? Please, my name is actually Link! I don't know who this 'Darren' guy is or even how you knew my name but I am Link!"

"B-but… you're not even real…" Nyx reached to him and touched his shoulder, feeling the fabric. "But… no… you're not real. You're a video game character…"

"I don't know what you mean. But I am real. Just as you are." Link said. "I am Link. Who are you and how did you find yourself in the castle earlier?"

"My name… is Nyx… I… don't know how I ended up in the castle…" Nyx put her hand on her head. "I don't know why I'm here… I don't know what the hell is going on, and I don't know why you look like Darren!"

"Well, Nyx, tell me, who is Darren?"

"Darren… he was my… my only friend… I swear, you could be his twin if it weren't for the ears…" Nyx forced her eyesight away from his. Of course this wasn't Darren… he was dead and he was not a game character. He just admired the one that she was now standing in front of.

"What happened to him? You said he was dead."

"He was killed…" Flashes of Darren's face devoid of color flashed in her mind. "He called himself 'Link' after you…"

"Me? Why me?"

"Because… he felt a connection to you…"

_Nyx sat with Darren beneath the stair case. "Why does everyone call you 'Link' anyway?" She asked him._

"_Well, Nyx, have you heard of the Legend of Zelda games?" she shook her head. "Okay, wow, you're deprived." He joked._

"_Hey!"_

"_Alright, alright." He laughed. He brought out a binder with three golden triangles on it. "This, first of all, is the Triforce, a sacred power source for all of the land of Hyrule. It's basically the trinity balance of power, wisdom, and courage. Link is the hero in all the games. For instance…" he opened the binder and flipped to a page with a picture of a cartoon-like elf clad in green. "This guy is Link as he appears as an adult in the Ocarina of Time game."_

_Nyx looked at the picture. "Weird, he has the same kind of eyes as you."_

"_Yup. And because I have been playing these games since the first one, I know all there is to know. Including everything about the latest game called 'Twilight Princess'." He flipped to another page, showing a more detailed picture of the 'Link' character._

"_He looks more like you there." Nyx pointed out. "Dirty blond hair, crystal blue eyes, pointy nose…"_

"_Hey! I don't have a pointy nose!" Darren said._

"_Yes you do."_

"_Ya, well I wish I had the ears. You come close. You're like half Hylian and half human. That is really cool."_

"_Ya well not really…" Nyx muttered. "So why exactly do people call you 'Link'? Because you look like him and know everything there is to know?"_

"_No. I can relate to this guy. Ever since I was little, I feel like I've had a connection with him. He feels real to me…" Darren looked at the picture of Link._

"_You know what else feels real?" Nyx made him look at her. She flicked his ear lightly. "Your rounded ears."_

_He put his hand up to his ear and laughed. "That hurt you know."_

"A connection?" Link blinked.

"Yeah… he felt you were real. I guess he was right…" Nyx sighed. "He was killed, and I'm still looking for the ones who took him from me. I have one thing to go on, and I'm sticking with it."

"And what might that be?"

"They took a necklace I made for him. His killer would be wearing it." Nyx looked around. "Well… now what?"

"Princess Zelda wants us to save Hyrule. I was given these garments from a legendary hero. I have no choice but to help. I have the Triforce of Courage, allowing me to change in to a wolf in the Twilight. Will you help me, Nyx? You were changed in to a wolf as well so you must have some sort of power that can help save Hyrule from the darkness."

Nyx looked up at him. "I guess I don't have a choice either. I'll help."

Link gave her a smile that she couldn't help but return. "Great. Now do you have any experience with weapons?"

"I'm trained in hand to hand combat, archery, and assorted weapons."

"Okay. Think you can handle fighting hand-to-hand for a while?"

"I think so." Nyx never really had to actually fight but she could adapt quickly if needed.

"Good. Now let's go."

"What about that village? You're from there aren't you?" Nyx asked. "They said something about missing children."

"Yes. The children were taken; all of my friends were taken. I have to keep going to find them. Going back to tell them I'm leaving will only make them all worry more." He had a determination in his eyes. "We have to head to the Forest Temple as the Faron spirit said." They started walking down the path, deeper in to the woods.

"Who were the figures that Midna showed back at the castle? The boy and the woman?"

"Collin and Ilia… they're also my friends. They were taken by monsters unlike the shadow ones we've seen." Link kept glancing around, cautious of what was around them.

"I'll help you get them back." Nyx offered.

He smiled to her again. "Thanks."

They walked in to a winding path that was darkened, devoid of sunlight. Nyx looked to see a small plant in the middle of the path. She went to step over it but it grew in to a giant plant with teeth!

"Look out!" Link pulled her back and brought out the sword and shield, slicing at the plant before it struck. It fell limp and withered away, leaving only the dried up leaves.

"What was that?" Nyx asked. Never in her life had she seen a killer plant. Well, there was a Venus Fly Trap but this one was completely different!

"That was a Deku Baba. They grow back after time so we should keep moving." Link put the sword and shield away.

"Let's see… killer rats, killer shadows, killer plants… what's next? Killer bats?" Nyx asked herself.

"There's another Deku Baba ahead. You try to take it out." Link offered.

Nyx went up to the plant as it grew in its monstrous form. She jumped to the side as it tried to bite at her with its teeth. "Hee-YA!!" she spun around and kicked its head at the joint between the head and the stem.

It flew right off and withered away. That was unexpected.

"Okay, that works?" Nyx tucked her hair behind her ears. That was about as easy as kicking dandelion heads off. Link was staring at her. "What?"

"Your ears… they're different."

"Ya… I know…" Nyx adjusted her hair to cover her ears. Her ears were different from everyone at home, and they were different from everyone here. Why was she born with these ears? Again, another question. She walked ahead and kicked away another head of a third Deku Baba before it grew up entirely.

"Hey, come on, I was just saying that they're different. Everyone has either pointed like mine or rounded. Yours is almost in between." Link explained.

"Everyone I have been around has round ears. No one has pointed ears." Nyx said.

They came up to a gate. "This is the Dark Tunnel, but its locked." Link said. "Maybe Coro has the key…" he muttered, mostly to himself.

"Coro?"

"The guy who sold me a lantern. He also sells oil." He looked down the path. "He's just up ahead. Let's go ask him."

Nyx looked ahead to the lightened area and found it sunny. Little birds chirped around them, a shack was off to their left, and there was a short guy with a large afro. He had little birds nested in his hair. They went up to him.

"Oh, you're the guy who bought a lantern from me." The guy, Coro, said to Link. He looked him up and down. "I almost didn't recognize you in that garment. You look like you're ready for the challenge that lies past the Dark Tunnel." He reached in to his pocket and pulled out a rustic old key. "Here. I know I can't stop you but take care anyway. Will you need any more oil?"

Link accepted the key and gave it to Nyx. She put it in her pocket. She saw him pull out an old lantern. It had an indicator on the side near the bottle. "I think we're good. Thanks, Coro."

"Good luck, man." He waved to them as they turned to head back to the Dark Tunnel entrance.

Nyx took out the key and inserted it in to the lock. She turned it and swung open the door fencing. Alight breeze brushed at their hair and clothes from the tunnel. Link brought out the lantern and lit it up. The two started walking through the tunnel. "Oh, I almost forgot." He pulled out something from his back pouch. "I have a slingshot. Have you used them before?"

"Actually… no. I haven't." Nyx replied.

"It's just aim and shoot. You can use rocks, deku nuts, and seeds." He gave it to her. "It's better than nothing."

Nyx looked at it, analyzing it. She was no 'Dennis-the-Menace' or 'Bart Simpson'. She did archery, not sling shooting. It seemed like the same basic concept though… She looked around at the ground and picked up a handful of pebbles, pocketing them.

Light screeching came to her ears, making her look up. Link heard it as well from the way he held the lantern farther up to eye-level. Nyx heard wing flapping.

"Bats…?"

Link shook his head. "No… Keese." He took out his sword. "Try to hit them using the sling shot."

Nyx nodded and pulled out a few stones. She loaded one and aimed through the 'Y' of the weapon. She pulled back the elastic and released it.

The Keese shrieked and spiraled to the ground, twitching in pain. The stone was embedded in one of its eyes… Green ooze seeped out of it. Link gave a low whistle. "That looks painful."

"Yeah… no kidding…" Nyx muttered. Okay, the sling shot is effective.

They continued on down through the tunnel, Link lighting their way until a faint light came from the end of the tunnel. He shut off the lamp as they came in to a clearing. There was absolutely no sound. No birds, no insects, not even wind rustling through the trees. It was dead air.

They approached the edge of a dock and looked over the path ahead… It was covered in a strange purple mist. Nyx knelt down to reach her hand in.

"No, wait." Link stopped her. "This mist isn't right… Don't touch it or breathe it in. It was here when I was a wolf… It knocked me out for a good minute with a small whiff."

"So it's a gas…" Nyx mumbled. "Hey, try holding your lantern to this… the heat might repel it."

Link brought out his lantern but it was snatched out of his hands. He looked around and drew his sword. Nyx looked and saw the light of the lantern being waved around on a stick by a monkey… It had a bow on its head. It jumped in to the mist, creating a vacant circle around it, where the gas wasn't going.

"Wow, smart monkey." Nyx said.

"I believe she wants us to follow her." Link watched the monkey as it made small noises that almost wanted to beckon the two of them to come.

"Well then we should." Nyx said. In the back of her mind, Darren would make a joke and say,

"_We should make like banana's and split!"_ She gave a quiet sigh and jumped in to the circle after the monkey with Link. The mist kept an open clear space around the monkey, or more-so the lantern so as long as they kept up with the monkey, they be taken by the mist.

Link kept his sword out, his eyes wandering through the mist that they could barely see through. "Be on the look-out for monsters. They'll come out and probably attack out 'guide'."

They rounded around a giant tree and Nyx raised the sling shot up, hitting another bat—Keese. This time, the stone went straight through its head, and like that goblin from before, it hit the ground and dissolved in to a strange green stain. That still boggled her mind at how that was anatomically possible.

The little monkey kept going then cried in fear, shaking. Link swung his sword with a battle cry and cut another Keese in half before it made contact with the monkey. She jumped up and down in thanks and kept going through an arch in another tree. They followed the monkey before it cried again. A Deku Baba sprouted and bit at the lantern and monkey, missing by only a few centimeters. Link went to charge at it, holding up his shield, deflecting the head.

Nyx watched him but felt that she couldn't quite feel that she was there. Just like the ram spirit said, she was disconnected. She couldn't feel anything unless she thought of Darren… giving her pain despite the good warmth it gave her heart. Link was not Darren.

"Hey. Nyx, come on, we're almost at the ledge." Link put a hand on her shoulder.

She nodded and walked on. They went up a slight hill out of the mist. The little monkey dropped the lantern, making it loose its flame. She ran away in to the darkness of a tunnel now ahead of them.

Link picked up the lantern and looked at its oil level. "Out of oil…" he reached in to his back pack and pulled a bottle with a yellow liquid. Nyx raised an eyebrow. Just what did he all carry in that fanny pouch of his? He opened the base of the lantern and poured in the yellow liquid. "There. That should be good."

Oh, so it was oil. Nyx looked ahead and saw a faint light…

"We should be ready for the Forest Temple." Link put the lantern away and started ahead. Nyx looked at him. He was looking where he was. Could he not see that light?

"Uh, Link?" Nyx asked, catching up with him. "Do you not see that light ahead?"

"A light?" he looked ahead to the tunnel before them and stopped. It must have finally clicked in his mind. "What is that…?"

They walked closer, but with caution as the light started to take a physical form. They were a few meters away, noting that the light had taken on the form of a wolf. A ghostly white wolf with red eyes stood before Link and Nyx. It looked back and forth between Nyx and Link then growled.

Link stood ready to fend off the creature but before Nyx could react, the wolf pounced on to Link, disappearing and knocking Link to the ground. He was knocked out.

"Link?" Nyx knelt beside him. She put a pair of fingers against his neck and felt a pulse… Well, at least he wasn't hurt. Everything was just strange now. She sat down beside him, waiting for him to recover. She didn't know what that wolf was, what it just did, or what would happen when Link awoke.

She looked at his face and sighed in to the silence. "Why do you look so much like him…?"

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_Shadowess:_ Alright! What do you think? Need I continue or just give up. One review for this chapter is all to get another chapter out next week sometime! But remember, reviews are love but not forced!


	4. The Forest Temple Part 1

_Shadowess:_ I am SOO sorry for such a late update! I hit a major writers' block and only managed to get out of it recently. This chapter is dedicated to _Ray Rune_ and _Blue Fire Lily_.

**Disclaimer: I do not not own anything in relation to Legend of Zelda.**

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**_Chapter IV: The Forest Temple, Part 1_**

With a gasp awake, Link shot up to a sitting position. He had just been in a foggy area with a warrior spirit but, he apparently had not moved from when that wolf of light pounced on him. He looked around and saw Nyx sitting beside him.

Nyx watched his facial expression change from twists of shock and caution to one of confusion and mild relief. "You were only out for a few minutes." She answered his unasked question.

The entire time that she sat there, she looked at their surroundings yet did not move from her spot. Each time she would glance at Link's unconscious form, she would think of Darren. The air never moved enough to touch her skin but apparently enough to stir the mist faintly.

It was almost hypnotic to watch the mist with only the faint sounds of their breathing to travel through the air.

Link nodded and stood up, allowing the newfound knowledge that he was taught to sink in entirely. "Alright. We should continue on."

Nyx stood up as well. "If you don't mind my asking, but what happened? The wolf leaped on to you and you fell unconscious."

"I was in a space where thick cloud mist surrounded everything, with the Castle off in the distance." He looked up to the unseen tree branches above them. "A warrior with undead red eyes approached me and taught me a technique that he called the 'Ending Blow'. It felt like I was actually fighting him." He rubbed his shoulder. "I can still feel the stiffness in my shoulder from when he knocked me back when I did it wrong the first time."

"Then that wolf must know you need different battle skills somehow..."

"The Goddesses must have sent him." Link smiled up to the unseen sky. "Well, now we should keep going on to the Forest Temple."

They walked on down through the tunnel that was set before them. It was dark for a moment before the path before them showed a wooden walkway with two creatures guarding a doorway that was sealed with a giant spiders' web.

"The Forest Temple must be up there." Link nodded to the situation ahead of them.

Nyx nodded. She didn't know where but somewhere, she would find the reason as to why she was here, and why she was the 'Missing Piece'. Maybe she could find something to ease the pain of her loss…

"Well, why don't you show off that new move you leaned?" Nyx crossed her arms, giving a small smirk his way.

"Very well. You get to see what I can do with the sword." He grinned at her before taking both sword and shield in hand. Nyx followed behind him down the path.

The two creatures saw Link and raised their weapons. Nyx watched as he charged at the two, taking them both on at once. She caught a glimpse of his eyes and saw the same fierceness as when he battled as a wolf.

One of the creatures were knocked down and instantly disintegrated in to a green stain. The other fell on to its stomach, wriggling in pain. Link leaped up and drove his sword down in to the creature's chest, killing it instantly. It dissolved like the others. He put his sword and shield away and looked to Nyx for her reaction.

"Now you'll get a blue ribbon if you can do that blind folded. That was quickly done." She gave a small laugh. She was impressed, but she had also never seen anyone battle with a sword against two creatures.

"I don't think I'd want to do that blind folded anyway." Link rubbed the back of his head. He looked at the web that covered the entrance.

"What do we do about this? I've never seen a web this large and thick before." Nyx looked over the sticky silk.

Link looked over the web before pulling out his lantern. "We should burn it." He lit it and held the exposed flame to the webbing. A flicker of fire touched the silk, making it combust and disappear in a flash. A dark rocky corridor was presented to them. "Let's go."

Together they walked through the darkness with only the lantern to light their way. Nyx pulled out the slingshot and another pebble, holding it ready. Wings flapped ahead of them. From above, a Keese flew straight down at them. Nyx fired and hit it, making it cry out in pain and fall to their feet, but not without its tail scratching Nyx's arm, only adding to the ones she already had.

"You alright?" Link asked, noticing the wound.

"Ya, I'm alright." Nyx looked at her arm. "Just a scratch."

Nothing else jumped out from the darkness. The atmosphere seemed to change as they ventured further. It started to become dank and murky. The humidity rose up only enough to be tolerable for a tropical area. They moved past a few small boulders and entered a moderately large chamber.

A light mist covered the dark area with only a few spots of lights peeking though the tree branches above. Scratching and clicking echoed through the air from their left. Deku Baba sprouts sat in the ground ahead of them, just past a couple of totem poles. Vines were along the walls and further up ahead, leading to a door.

Skulls with legs were scattered on the vines beyond reach. Nyx looked at them, recognizing photographs of them in Darren's book. They were like spiders, but she couldn't recall the name. She took out the slingshot and pulled back a pebble, aiming for the skull. The pebble flew and hit the target. With a high-pitch screech, it fell to the ground in a puff of smoke instead of dissolving in to a stain on the ground.

Link looked at her, then to the vines. "Well, you know how to take care of Walltula's quickly."

Ah yes, that's what it was called. She nodded to him then shot down the second Walltula on the vine. Link walked forward towards the tall poles, taking care of the Deku Baba via beheading. Nyx approached the vine wall. Above, there was a ledge that seemed strong enough to hold a load. Maybe something was up there.

Giving an experimental tug on the vine, she heaved herself up a foot off the ground. The vines were thick enough to hold her weight. She started to climb, with her body as close to the vines to keep her weight distributed to prevent her from falling back. Once she reached the ledge, she pulled herself on to it.

Link finally noticed that she wasn't behind him and looked around. "Nyx?"

"I'm up here!" she called down to him. At her feet was a chest that stood half-way up to her knees. "There's a chest up here. How do I open it?" Chests usually needed keys or some kind of combination code.

"Just lift up the lid. If it doesn't open, give it a kick at the lock."

Nyx knelt down and lifted the moss covered lid of the chest. She reached in and pulled out a palm sized yellow rupee. Not a rupee from India but a jewel that sparkled. She pocketed it and stood back up. "Okay, I'm coming back down."

"What did you find?" Link asked her as she slowly descended down the vines.

"It's a yellow rupee." Nyx released the vines when she was a few feet from the ground. She pulled out the rupee and handed it to him.

"Not bad. I have lots of rupees so you should keep this one. Whatever you find, you keep alright?" Link handed it back to her.

"What is this one worth?" Nyx asked.

"It's worth ten green rupees. You don't have rupees where you're from?" he asked.

"No. We have dollars and cents with coins and paper bills." Nyx said. She patted her back pocket and frowned. "I don't have my wallet or else I'd be able to show you."

"That's okay."

In the brief silence, a light cry from an animal was heard. It was familiar to the cry of the monkey they had encountered not too long ago. They both went forward to another set of totem poles. Another Deku Baba sprouted up but it was not alone. A purple-blue goblin came up with a club in its hand. Just beyond them was a hanging vine wall with a Walltula's clinging to the greens, and a wooden cage just behind the vine.

"You free the monkey and deal with those Walltula's. I'll handle these two." Link pulled his sword out at ready.

Nyx paused, noting his stance. Not very many people were left-handed, and Link apparently was. It was just another thing that reminded her of Darren…

_Nyx looked up at Darren as they wrote on their homework before class. She was sitting beside him on his left, and he held his pen mirror to her._

"_You're left-handed." She stated._

"_That I am." He smiled at her. "I'm a lefty at almost everything."_

"_Well I'm right-handed at almost everything." She returned the smile._

"_Hey, that makes you normal and me abnormal." He nudged her arm with his elbow._

"_I could probably teach myself to be left-handed."_

"_I bet you could." Darren stretched his arms out in front of him, twirling the pen with his fingers. "Hey, you know that in most of the Zelda games that Link is left-handed? It's more noted that in his cartoon that he is right-handed."_

"_Another way that you idolize him, huh?" Nyx laughed lightly._

"_Pretty much." He poked her with the pen. "I could probably mirror your moves if I wanted to with all the karate and cool stuff you do. We should try that one day!"_

_Nyx smiled and spun her pen in her fingers. "We should."_

Mentally shaking that momentary flash out of her mind, she continued on to her task. Pulling out her slingshot, she killed the two Walltula's that threatened to jump out since they were so close to the ground. Once their smoke vanished in to the air, she went up to the cage where the monkey cried to be released from its prison.

Nyx looked all over the cage for a latch but couldn't find it. She would have to break the cage open. Taking hold of the top ledge, she readied herself. She didn't know how sturdy or what kind of wood was used to make this cage.

"Okay, you stay back and stay still." She told the monkey. To her surprise, it listened, taking cower in to a corner opposite of her. She took a breath and gave a forceful kick against two of the bars. They snapped, and her ankle stung for a moment.

Nyx pulled away the broken bars, giving enough space for the monkey to escape. The monkey climbed quickly up the hanging vine.

"That's the same monkey who stole your lantern earlier." Midna's voice resonated to her ears, making her turn to see her transparent shadow by Link. "Seems like she wants you to help with something. Maybe it has something to do with this temple." She disappeared back down in to Link's shadow.

Link grabbed the vine and pulled on it, finding no leeway in its structure. "Let's go up."

They climbed, with some difficulty at first since there was no solid hold to support the vines near the bottom, but they managed to reach the top of the wooden structure. The monkey jumped up and down at a round rock with a red swirl pattern on it. It almost seemed like a blockade.

"I think she wants to get through…" Nyx pondered. But there was no way through that she could see. It wasn't like they had any explosives or tools to get through that anyway. The monkey pushed on the rock, crying out to the two of them.

"I think it can be opened if we push on it. She seems to know what she's doing." Link said. He went up to the rock and put his hands on it. Nyx went up and placed her hands on to the smooth surface of the rock. "On three. One, two, three!"

The two of them pushed on to the rock, making it shift back and down slightly. It went in to a gutter and rolled away in to a slot in the wall. They walked in to the next chamber. Walking down the old wooden stairs, which threatened to break under each step, they surveyed the room.

Straight ahead, to the left, and to the right were doors similar to the one they just pushed. On a raised platform before them, there was a giant spider. It was larger than both Nyx and Link combined. The little monkey saw the spider and cowered in fear; scared to get hurt. The spider lurked around with its ever-glowing green eyes, large sharp fangs, and a skull-shaped thorax. It appeared very menacing.

"How do we get past the over-sized spider?" Nyx asked, catching a glimpse in to its glowing eyes.

"I'll take it down." He told her, pulling out his sword. "While I have it distracted, you look around on the lower level to see what you can find. Skulltulas are deadly if attacked head on; their weakness is from behind."

Nyx wondered for a moment on just how he knew that. Did he fight these before? It was like he had a monster dictionary in his head. Kind of like Darren each time she asked about what some creatures were that he doodled on his papers. She remembered him going on and on about all the different variations of the Darknut creature.

"Alright. Those things aren't venomous are they?" She asked. If those fangs scratched him, she would need to know if he was going to get poisoned.

"Actually, I don't know." He rubbed the back of his head.

So much for wealth of information. "Okay. Well let's not find out." Nyx made her way around the platform, looking back to see that the monkey had stayed on the rickety steps. To her right was a Deku Baba, shooting up to try and take a piece out of her body. She made a round kick on it, sending its head fly and hit against the wall.

Nyx could hear Link making his light cries of battle just above her against the creature. She could even hear the Skulltula's cries; whether they were of pain or anger, she couldn't tell. Continuing ahead, Nyx spotting something in the corner…

It looked like another spider but had only four legs. Its body was round with two shining red on the top of its bodice. Nyx raised the slingshot and loaded a pebble. It hit the creature. It screamed for a moment then fell over. It began to flash red.

"What…?" Nyx stepped a bit closer to it, stepping past a boulder. What was this thing doing? It wasn't dissolving in to the green goop like all the other creatures. Sparks started to come from the ridges of the body.

"Get away from it!" Link's voice came from above her.

Nyx ran behind the bolder just in time to get away from an explosion with the same impact as C4 in those action films. Her hands were covering her head.

"What the hell was that!?" Nyx exclaimed, looking around the boulder to see nothing but a black cloud of smoke.

"That was a Bombling." Link jumped over the edge down by her. He had defeated the spider with not a scratch on him.

"You attack it and it explodes?" Nyx ran her fingers through her hair.

"Pretty much." Link said. "Look. They re-spawn too." Another Bombling was standing in the place of the exploded one. "These guys are like double-edge swords. Watch this." He slashed at the creatures legs, causing it to crash to the ground and start to flash red like the previous monster. He picked it up and carried it over to the boulder. He dropped it down and pulled Nyx away from the boulder.

Pulling out his shield, he covered the two of them. Nyx watched from behind, watching the bomb monster explode against the stone. Hundreds of rock fragments flew into the air from the impact, with many hitting Link's wooden shield. The dust cleared, allowing Link to lower his shield.

Nyx looked at the area where the boulder was and noticed a small cavern in the wall. Inside was a small treasure chest. "You blew up the boulder, Link. You get the chest."

He nodded and went up to the chest, kicking the lid open. He pulled out a small red jewel. "It's a twenty rupee. Not bad." He smiled and pocketed it in to his wallet. Above both of them, the monkey was crying out for them. They went around and climbed up the center platform. The monkey was jumping up and down, pointing to the unlit torches.

"Maybe she wants you to light the four torches." Midna's shadow came up. "Who knows, something might happen if you do." She giggled and vanished from sight.

"Well, may as well. All the areas are too far to jump to. We don't have any rope or anything to get across either." Link shrugged, retrieving his lantern.

Nyx looked around. What good would lighting a bunch of torches do? This world was just too surreal to her liking… But then again, it was more interesting. She didn't know what to expect. Nyx was actually excited of what could happen.

Link lit the torches and the earth rumbled for a moment. Large heavy wooden stairs raised up, creating a path to get to the northern exit. How was that possible?

"Let's go." Link put the lantern away and ran up to the door, but skidding in mid step upon seeing a chest to his left. Nyx followed behind and noticed the chest as well. It was rather larger from what they have seen before. This one was a bit dusty but had no moss on it. It was relatively new compared to the others. He approached it and lifted up the lid with both hands with minor difficulty.

Nyx looked over his shoulder and saw a bunch of dirty white cloths covering something. Link reached in and pulled out a leather rolled-up scroll. Link unrolled it, revealing an elaborate map.

"It's a map of the dudgeon." Link said, reading it. "It even has a legend of what each room is called." He looked around to the room they were presently in then looked back to the map. "We are currently in the second chamber called 'Crossroads Hub'. The one just up ahead is called the 'Wind Gorge'."

"Why would someone leave a map in a chest?" Nyx asked, looking over the map.

Link only shrugged. "Maybe in case someone needs to get through?" He tucked the map in to his belt.

Nyx sighed. What kind of person leaves chests around with maps and coins around for anyone to take?

'_The Goddesses.'_

Whipping her head around, Nyx looked for the source of the voice. The Goddesses? Who said that? It sounded like…

"Darren…?" Nyx whispered, slightly confused.

"Did you say something, Nyx?" Link asked, looking to the monkey who was now waiting for the two of them to open the door before them.

"Huh? Oh, it's nothing." Nyx waved it off. She got up and walked with Link to the door. It seemed like the same kind of door that they pushed to get in to there. Without words, they pushed the door open, allowing it to slide in to the secret slot in the wall.

The monkey went through with the two of them in tow. Sun shone down on them through the trees, and wind breezed through the area in gusts. A rope bridge set the path before them to another door. The area was scattered with vine and moss covered wooden platforms. Those platforms turned with each gust of wind.

The monkey started across the bridge but stopped when it was halfway across. Nyx started to go towards it but Link stopped her by her shoulder. He was looking up to another area. She followed his gaze and noticed a huge white baboon on another path. It was holding a boomerang. It threw the boomerang, sending it down towards the wooden bridge!

The ropes of the bridge snapped, being severed by the boomerang before it returned back up to the red-butted baboon. The little monkey scrambled to get back but managed to grab hold of the boards before the bridge fell. It climbed back up quickly, retreating to Nyx's heels.

The baboon spanks its own buttocks down towards them in mock and joy before fleeing in to another part of the area; out of sight.

Midna came up from the shadows as the little monkey with a bow on its head went back to the doorway. "Well, seems you can't go that way thanks to the rude baboon up there. She seems to know where she's going so it'd be good to follow her." Midna nodded to the monkey before disappearing back in to Link's shadow.

"I've seen some weird monkeys but none able to throw a boomerang." Nyx recalled a field trip to the zoo in her younger years. It was a weird enough time then but this was just really strange.

"Well, monkeys are a civilization all on their own, so they probably taught themselves a lot of things that can surprise us; hence the boomerang trick." Link said, walking with Nyx back in to the Crossroads Hub chamber.

The monkey ran across the bridge that was created with the torches and urged them to come to the west side of the center platform. They went up to her just as she jumped up, ran across a beam above their heads, only to drop down in the middle of the beam. She held on only by her feet. She clapped her hands, and urged both Link and Nyx to come towards her.

"Does she want us to jump?" Nyx asked.

"Seems like it. It's not a far drop but I think she's going to swing us across if we catch her hands." Link noticed. "Do you want me to go first?" he grinned at her.

Nyx sighed. "I'm lighter; it'll be less stress on the monkey." Nyx positioned herself to run and jump towards the monkey. She took a deep breath and ran, leaping up. The monkey grabbed hold of her wrists, swinging her through the air. Timing it, Nyx jumped and landed on the edge of the platform. The little monkey clapped with apparent happiness.

She watched Link make the approach in a run. He pushed off the edge but went too far. His arms flailed as he missed the monkey's arms. He tried to twist his body to grab hold but it was too late… The monkey grabbed him by his foot. He swung back and forth, dangling by one leg.

A smile twitched on Nyx's face. She started to chuckle, then it erupted in laughter. Link's hair was hanging, his tunic hung a bit, and he was struggling to keep everything on him. He looked so funny! She clutched her ribs and fell on her knees in laughter.

"Yeah sure, laugh at the dangling hero." Link's voice was strained as the blood rushed to his head.

Nyx's eyes began to form tears from laughing. She hadn't laughed this hard for a long while, ever since Darren decided to do a handstand in the cafeteria. But apparently her laugh was contagious since Link soon started to laugh with her.

"Are you okay, Link?" Nyx finally managed to ask after a few moments of rib-jolting laughter.

"Oh yeah, I'm just hanging around." He chuckled.

Link got down and retried to jump, succeeding in getting across. He and Nyx, in their light chuckles, continued on.

* * *

_Shadowess:_ Okay, was the start of the temple phase by phase good or bad? If I continue with this style, then the Forest Temple will be extending in to the next 6-7 chapters. I like detail, but I know not everyone likes that much excessive description. One review required to update this story! See profile for updating information. Reviews are love but not forced! 


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